Working and having fun...

In one of my moments of web watching, i came across this article published at Dumb Little Man entitled " Should Work Be Fun? Not if you Want to be Successful."

The author expounds on the idea that what differentiates the A players from the B players is the willingness to do work that is not fun. That for you to be successful and at the top of your field, you should be discipline enough to do those gruelling, hateful tasks that your colleagues are unwilling to do in addition to the hard, smart , work that is normally required of everyone. He maintains that the most successful is reaping the most financial benefit because, he is the person that persists to do hateful tasks. His example was that of two economists of the same brilliance, one earns more, has a bestseller and is more widely known because he took the time to network and market himself, a task clearly un-fun to both academics. But the successful one persisted even though he doesn't like networking and marketing himself, he does it anyway because it is necessary.

Hubby totally understands this concept even though he is not fun of reading self-help books and articles. Sometimes, i think that he learns intuitively and follow-through on ideas and tasks needed to be done in order for him to be top of his field. Which is probably one of the reason why he is successful.

I, on the other hand, has some measure of success but not really what you would call at the top of my game. Precisely because there are some activities that needs to be done and traits needed to be out there. I am not fiercely competitive and a bit shy of my abilities and achievement. Really..

But success means differently to different people. And if there is onething new that I learned about myself, it is the fact that I could go out of my comfort zone if it means preserving those that are of value to me, like family. Right now, it is enough that i have work which allows me to have fun...sometimes.

Wishes for me from Tina

I just got this email from a friend and i just thought of passing these wishes on to you dear followers :


For you, I wish good health
For you, I wish happiness and peace of mind
For you, I wish success in
your personal life and in your career
For you, I wish the vanishing of hard feelings
among family and friends
For you, I wish laughter and joy
For you, I wish a strong faith to carry you through
the times that are hard
For you, I wish food upon your table
and clothes upon your back

For you, I wish a walk in the forest
For you, I wish friendship, honesty, and fidelity
with your mate

For you, I wish the hug of a child
For you, I wish the morning dew and sunlight
For you, I wish a bubble bath by candlelight

For you, I wish a good cry
For you, I wish the songs of a bird and
a babbling creek

For you, I wish lessons learned so you
will not make the same mistakes over and over

For you, I wish quiet times shared
with the one you love
For you, I wish the innocence of youth
and the wisdom of maturity
For you, I wish the experience of grass
beneath your feet
For you, I wish the receipt of joy in simple matters

For you, I wish the fragrance of a rose
For you, I wish a heart that is at home
For you, I wish dancing by moonlight
For you, I wish the pleasure of fishing

For you, I wish a Mother’s love

For you, I wish a good nights sleep
For you, I wish the laughter of a child
For you, I wish memories of days gone by
For you, I wish a heart nestled in
acceptance with yourself

For you, I wish dancing eyes and a ready smile

For you, I wish compassion and understanding
For you, I wish the appreciation of
a hard days work

For you, I wish safety at all times
For you, I wish insight
For you, I wish a spring rain

For you, I wish simplicity

For you, I wish a day of rest but most of all
I wish you love

Tips on getting work at oDesk

A new friend through Facebook has asked me for some pointers in getting work at oDesk. Since i become an oDesk member, I have been blessed by buyers choosing me for their jobs and so i thought it must be easy for everybody as well. If you are not getting enough work at oDesk, let me share a few tips of mine:

1. Play to your strength

When you register at oDesk you will be ask for your area of expertise or at least those areas where you are comfortable you can deliver the work required. While my background is in finance, I can also write articles and even do data entry and so i include this in my skills listing. In return, I get notifications from oDesk of job listings specifically catering to my skills.

2. Create an online presence

Part of the reason why i maintain this website it to show my potential employers sample of my posts during application and interview so they would get a feel of my writing and the field where i am most comfortable. If they assign me a topic, they will know what style i will employ since they are already acquainted with my writing style through this website. In a way, this blog of mine is no longer just for personal outbursts but that it is also helping me earn money online.

3. Give a competitive rate

Business is always about getting the most out of your investment and so buyers will always chose the service provider which offers the lowest cost assuming all things are equal. But don't give out a rate that is way too low else you might get swamped with job offers which later on you will be unable to fulfill. You will suffer that way because you will have low feedback rating from your buyer. If you set a low hourly rate, you can always negotiate later with your buyer especially for those more difficult assignment. I get a different rate for freelance academic work than for web content with SEO. There is no hard and fast rule to setting up a rate, all depends on how you can market your skills but do take the time to survey the rates offered by similar providers.

After you get job offers, do meet the buyer's deadline. It makes for good working relationship and they will give you priority for future job. If you're unable to meet their demands, please inform your buyer in advance so that they will not be inconvenience by it. Hope this helps you a bit. For further tips, please visit oDesk anytime.

Bawal Magkasakit..

Last friday, i got soaked by rain. Although i brought my umbrella with me, I did not use it because i bought abby's birthday cake and so got both my hands full. Early Saturday morning, I woke up with an itchy throat and a heavy head. I tried not to mind it because we were going to go to Laguna hotsprings only to have our destination change at the last minute to Nasugbo in Batangas. We had lunch in Econo Inn at Tagaytay and got serenaded by their resident acoustic band who gave a very good rendition of Lady Gaga's Poker Face. It's the first time that Abby experienced being sung happy birthday by a band and she was amazed and thrilled, i can tell.

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Anyway, on our way to batangas, it rained so hard that we were really wondering if our trip to the beach was ill-timed. When we got there, there were only about three groups apart from us who were enjoying the stormy weather. I didn't enjoy swimming, the air was too cold and the sea is too rough. We went home around 9pm and stopped over at starbucks tagaytay for hot cappucinos. Hubby bought again sweatshirts for aj and abby. I puked. I was not feeling well, and was too cold. When we arrived home, i immediately fell asleep. Sunday morning, i awoke with a big headache but since hubby is scheduled to go to bataan that day to attend a baptismal i took biogesic just so we could come with him. True enough, i felt better most of the day. when we got back , I was even able to iron hubby's clothes. Monday was really difficult. I dont seem to have the strength to get up from bed. My body is aching all over, my head is throbbing, i felt nauseaus. I can't go to work. And so i did not, i just spent the whole day sleeping. I've had my check up today and i was prescribed antibiotics,a cough and a cold medicine. And right now, i am having watery stool. I checked my antibiotic's side effect and it includes diarrhea. wheww, that's my i have gatorade on my desk.

Which really got me thinking, how difficult it would be to get sick. You will have no income since you don't go to work. It's diffirent if you have a thriving business that earns on its own because you'll still have money even when you don't work. So stressful just thinking about all these things...

Chowking, Intramuros

Two weekends ago, on our way to Pier 15 to look for japanese surplus airconditioning unit, we had breakfast at Chowking, Intramuros. Yes, this is the one closest to the Manila Cathedral. I was dismayed by how slow their service was. I guess it was customary to expect that being a fastfood service would really mean fast. Mc donalds timed theirs, and probably jollibee. Chowking does too in other branches of theirs that i have eaten..but not in Intramuros. When our order was taken, there were only a few customers. We waited for considerably a long while even though we ordered their breakfast offerings of longganisa. After waiting, i found out that the chicken i ordered was not punched. My mistake for not making sure the counter personnel had my orders correct. So i went to the counter again to order. There were already several people coming in and a line was forming so i had to fall in line to be served. Isn't it normal to expect that they should have another counter personnel/cashier so that order taking will be hasten and also so as not to make the customer wait? Am i making sense here? I just remembered how hungry i was that time and how hungry i am this time. hehehe

Anyway, when i went to the CR, i happen to notice the door to the kitchen was open, and a sign was posted that it was supposed to be a hair net area but a staff was going in and out without wearing one. And there were wet smudges on the floor, and an uncovered trash in the kitchen. While the CR for women were clean, the CR for the handicapped smells bad..Ughh

Sometimes, when i encounter lousy service, i just let it pass. Sometimes though when i take the effort to take some photos, i just write about it just to appease my offended sensibilities. Back to the additional order, i waited for it a long time when i notice a tray containing the items i ordered were in the counter probably awaiting a staff to give it to me. I went to the counter, checked if it is the same number that I was given and indeed it was, so i was the one who brought it to our table.